Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash, left, reacts to being fouled by Detroit Pistons guard Will Bynum, right, during the third quarter of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009, in Phoenix. The Suns won 117-91. (AP Photo/Paul Connors) less

Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash, left, reacts to being fouled by Detroit Pistons guard Will Bynum, right, during the third quarter of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009, in Phoenix. The Suns won 117-91. ... more

Photo: Paul Connors, AP

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Stephen Curry puts up a shot past the Clippers' Baron Davis in the first quarter of play. Curry finished the game with a triple double, the first triple-double for a Warriors rookie since Chris Webber in 1993. The Golden State Warriors played the Los Angeles Clippers in the Oakland-Alameda Country Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, February 10, 2010. less

Stephen Curry puts up a shot past the Clippers' Baron Davis in the first quarter of play. Curry finished the game with a triple double, the first triple-double for a Warriors rookie since Chris Webber in 1993. ... more

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

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Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns handles the ball under pressure from Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors on Friday in Phoenix.

Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns handles the ball under pressure from Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors on Friday in Phoenix.

Photo: Christian Petersen, Getty Images

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Curry's imaginative finishers grabbing attention

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Warriors coach Don Nelson once made a bad joke about not being sure Stephen Curry could be an NBA starter because he didn't have enough tattoos.

It turns out the rookie has saved his creativity for finishing at the rim.

Curry used a low crossover dribble to split two defenders on his way into the lane Thursday. As Denver's Chris "Birdman" Andersen tried to recover for a shot block, Curry faked an underhanded layup, spun counterclockwise on his pivot foot and finished with an overhanded bank-in.

In that same game, Curry flipped in a left-handed layup over his shoulder while gliding through a hard foul, and feathered in a high-arcing floater that is becoming one of his game-to-game staples.

Curry is establishing himself as one of the NBA's most imaginative finishers in the lane, but none of Curry's shots is getting more buzz than the one that had Andersen saying only one other point guard - Rajon Rondo - in the league could complete the move.

The play has been branded the "Dream Shake," the "Show-and-Go," and the "Step-in-Steph." No matter what you name it, chances are you would call it "great."

Immediately following the play, Ronny Turiaf held his temples to keep his brain from exploding in disbelief. The next day, coaches said it reminded them of something Steve Nash would do. Two nights later, one of the Warriors' ball boys was trying to mimic the move without a ball during pregame.

"He was more Nash-like than I have ever seen him," Nelson said. "It's unfair to compare (Curry) to a two-time MVP, but that's as close as I've ever seen anybody come to Nash."

Though the Warriors are trying to shield their rookie from continued Nash comparisons, assistant coach Keith Smart couldn't fudge the truth. Asked if Curry's play reminded him of anyone, Smart offered this: "Ooh, ooh, yeah," before pausing, explaining for 53 seconds what he hadn't quite said yet, and resigning himself to saying, "The guy who he mostly resembles is Nash."

Curry, Jordan and Robertson are the only three rookies in league history to have more than one 30-point, 12-assist game.

What sets Curry apart from most rookies is that he is getting better as the season goes. In December, he was challenged to get into the paint more often; in January, he did; and in February, he found ways to finish once he got there.

"He used to think he could just go to the basket, but he learned about how good the shot blockers are at this level," Smart said. "He has good touch, good presence and good feel for where he is and what he needs to do. He makes all of that come in handy."

Curry has learned how to get into areas where opposing big men are uncomfortable, forcing them either to commit to him or stay with the Warriors' bigs. Because of his uncanny ability to use either hand on passes or shots and his innate ability to read whether to pass or shoot, Curry is becoming a master of the "decision areas."

Most recently, opponents have chosen to stick with the Warriors' big men, challenging Curry (6-foot-3, 185 pounds) to dance among the trees. It hasn't worked as an opposing game plan, because Curry has made a life of trying to score as the little guy.

"I have a lot in my bag of tricks," Curry said. "I was always a short kid on my team, so I would always get my stuff blocked. I've had to find creative ways to score my whole career."

His imagination has been fueled with Golden State. Curry says "watching Monta (Ellis') genius" around the rim has helped, and, of course, there are the hours the rookie spends practicing.

During pre-pre-game warm-ups, it sometimes might appear that Curry, Anthony Morrow and C.J. Watson are messing around. They take turn after turn sprinting toward the basket and trying a variety of inventive layups, which they call "crafties" and look like shots that wouldn't be tried on a playground.

Until they are. And then they are tried in an NBA game.

"They do it in a loose environment and then when they come into play in the games, they're used to shooting them in a relaxed state," Smart said. "Steph has figured how to play slow in a fast-paced game, because he has the ability to process everything that is going on and apply it in a moment."

Curry can't explain his calm. He can't explain the move that has gotten replayed more than a dozen times on ESPN or what he plans for encore.

He does, however, offer this: "I've got plenty of time in my career to come up with something else creative that will wow people."